


Puppies in the Wind

by gatekat



Series: The Future is Wyld [1]
Category: Furry (Fandom), Original Work, X-Men Evolution
Genre: Anthropomorphic, F/M, Furry, Mutants, Show Remake, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-12
Updated: 2004-01-12
Packaged: 2018-08-24 01:46:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8351518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gatekat/pseuds/gatekat
Summary: Professor Tamerin Jurnix has always had a strong eye towards the future, and right now the gifted Foxbat's attention is on making a safe haven for mutant and mundane alike, starting with a school where mutants can not only learn to use their gifts, but learn everything it takes to make it in a world that hasn't decided their legal status yet. A fairly blatant remake of X-Men: Evolution, with a bunch of other stuff thrown into the mix.Primary Races: Canine





	

_'Now Leaving Corondin City Limits.'_

Ginny McCade watched as her parent's car passed by the sign, her tail almost wagging behind her. The Yellow Lab felt like something was going right in her life for the first time since the accident a few weeks before.

"Jurnix School for the Gifted," she murmured to herself, reading through the brochure she had as she sat between her two suitcases, her parents in the front seat. She read through it again, for probably the fiftieth time since they'd left home. It was better than thinking about exactly _why_ she was coming out here ... not that she could help thinking about it.

"We're coming up on the hill, Ginny," her father called back to her. She nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat as she glanced at the recently repaired railing.

"Wish I'd never let Stacie talk me into that ride," she sighed. She still remembered it like it had happened the day before; her, Stacie, and a few other kids, out in Stacie's dad's car ... missing the curve and going through the railing ... the stark, screaming terror as the car fell towards the earth.

And then the chaos afterwards, as she managed to not only slow its fall, but keep anybody from really being hurt in the process.

"It wasn't your fault, honey," her father reassured her as they made the turn. "Considering what happened, it's best that you were there." The same thing he and her mother had been telling her for weeks. She'd saved their lives, how didn't really matter.

Of course it didn't, that's why she wasn't sure what she was anymore.

Maybe she could figure that out here.

A few more minutes passed, with her parents talking about the school, what they'd heard about it. She wasn't really paying attention, absorbed in her own thoughts as they pulled up to the gates outside the mansion complex that looked much more like the homes of the super wealthy that she'd seen on TV than a school.

"We're here, Ginny," her mother said, distracting her enough that she could take it in as she grabbed her bags.

"Whoa," the young Lab said quietly. "This is the place?" Even having seen the pictures in the brochure, or on TV, it was entirely different to actually see the place in person. "Am I supposed to walk up, or are they going to open up the gates for us?"

The answer came with the gates opening and a hidden speaker telling them to continue to the main staircase in front of the largest building.

"That answers that question," her mother chuckled, pulling ahead slowly, following the path along until they reached a building larger than anything Ginny could remember seeing before, at least as something people were probably supposed to live in.

"Must be a lot of students here," she mused, as her mother stopped the car at the base of the grand staircase leading into an equally grand main entrance.

"Welcome to Jurnix, Ginny, Mr. and Ms. McCade." An older but still very fit Foxbat walked down the stairs to greet them with a warm smile. "I am Professor Tamerin Jurnix."

"Hello," Ginny smiled at him as she climbed out of the car, pulling her suitcases out after her. "It's nice to meet you," she added politely.

"Here, let me give you a hand with those," a very polite and nicely dressed male Border Collie-Alsatian Ginny's age offered with a smile. He stepped closer to her and the suitcases were suddenly light as a feather.

"Wow, thanks," she said, looking at the bags with a surprised expression.

"You're welcome. I'm SnapShot." He grinned loopily and offered a hand.

"I'm Ginny," she smiled, setting down one of the bags and shaking his hand. "Ginny McCade."

"Yes," her father said as the two older Labs got out. "We'd like to thank you for your help these past couple weeks too; I know it was short notice."

"We understand fully how quickly these things happen, Mr. McCade." Jurnix smiled and offered his hand. "We have all been through it and wish to make it easier on those who are coming into their gifts now."

"We can still be grateful for it," Mr. McCade pointed out with a smile, shaking the Foxbat's hand firmly.

"Yes, it hasn't been very easy for her," his wife said quietly, looking at their daughter as she talked with the young man helping her. "We're just glad that there's a place like this that can help her," she smiled.

"If you would like, you may join us on the tour of the school." Jurnix offered with a smile. "SnapShot can show her to her room ands help her settle in while we take tea in the library."

"Thank you," Mrs. McCade nodded. "That would be nice."

Jurnix nodded and turned with a subtle look at SnapShot, who nodded and smiled as he shook Ginny's hand.

"Come on, this place is incredible." The Border Collie-Alsatian grinned at her.

"It looks it," she nodded, grinning back. "So," she asked, picking up her other bag again, "are you the official guide for new students, or did I just get lucky?"

"You got lucky." He shot her a charming grin. "It was about time we got a cute girl around here."

"Oh," she chuckled cheerfully, smirking at him as she wagged her tail, "so that means there's no shortage of cute guys?"

"Only yours truly." SnapShot grinned at her after a fraction of a second. "I don't go for guys."

"Didn't think you did," Ginny winked. "Just figured you might know what sort of competition you have. Am I really the first student here who isn't a guy?"

"Well, no, there Samantha, but she's a Horse." He shrugged. "Not cute."

"Okay," the Lab chuckled slightly. "I was just starting to wonder if I was the ... well, if I was stranger than I already knew I was.

" _That_ kind of strangeness is an asset." He grinned winningly at her. "Seriously, there's only five of us right now, but the Prof said we should have nearly twenty by the end of the month."

"Well, good to know _some_ of it is," she smirked as they continued down beautifully decorated halls. "This place really is just getting off the ground then, isn't it?"

"It's been around for a couple years, but it's only now that a bunch of us are showing up. You'll meet Kris and Sandy, the senior students, soon enough."

"Cool," she nodded, looking around at the mansion. "How long have you been here, then?"

"Three weeks." He chuckled softly. "Samantha got here last week."

"Well, at least I'm not the only new student," Ginny grinned. "Though this doesn't look like any school I've ever seen before, that's for sure."

"It's not, that is definitely for sure." He chuckled and shook his head before guiding her up a side staircase. "The classes are wild. But it's fun, most of the time."

"Just don't tell me they found a way to make geometry interesting," she smirked. "I don't think I could possibly comprehend that being anything but dull."

"Well, not that." He smirked back. "But the ones about controlling our powers are fun. So's the combat training."

"Well of course those classes are interesting," Ginny chuckled. "They're actually useful, even if all you manage to do is turn things on and off when you want to."

"Which is _very_ useful." SnapShot grinned. "You'll learn to do a lot more than that though. What is your gift?"

"I don't really know," Ginny admitted quietly. "It only happened once. Picked a good time for it, though. Whatever it is, it can set a car down a lot easier than freefall does."

"That could be a lot of things." He nodded slightly. "I'm sure the Prof will figure it out. He's good at that kind of thing."

"That's good," the Lab smiled weakly. "It's weird, not knowing what I did, let alone how. What is it that you can do? Besides make bags lighter, that is," she chuckled, hefting her suitcases for emphasis.

"A couple things, he grinned broadly and winked at her. "First ..." he darted down the hall faster than she could follow with her eyes and just as suddenly zoomed back to her side, stopping on a dime. "I'm _fast_."

"That's one way to describe you," she grinned, startled by how easily he managed it. "Lucky you don't hit a wall like that, though."

"That's the other thing I can do." His deep brown eyes sparkled. "I can alter the force and friction of small things, like myself. I think I can alter mass or something too, cause of that." He motioned at her bags. "But it's about as big a thing as I can manipulate. It lets me stop on a dime without loosing my balance."

"Cool. I don't think Mr. Jurnix would be too crazy about having to patch walls all the time if you couldn't," she teased.

"Believe me, he doesn't." He snickered. "Kris still puts a lot of holes in the walls. He's still getting the hang of 'do not walk threw walls' while in armed form. He's not a bright boy when all metaled out."

Ginny cocked her head as she looked at him. "'Metaled out?'"

"It's his mutation. He gets much bigger and his skin turns to some kind of metal. He's all but invulnerable and unstoppable. Walks through reinforced cement as easily as we would tissue paper."

"Ouch," she winced. "I hope he doesn't do it on one of the top floors."

"It makes a major crater." SnapShot snickered. "You can see some of them, or the remains at least. Though do get filled in fairly quickly."

"In that case, I _do_ hope my room doesn't turn out to be beneath his," she smirked.

"Oh, he's on the ground floor." He smirked. "We learned that one long before I showed up."

"Good," she chuckled. "I'd hate to be in the middle of changing one day and suddenly have a skylight in my ceiling and floor."

"Oh, the entire building is reinforced so that won't happen, unless he takes a flying leap down."

"And if he does that, he's better make darned sure he _stays_ nearly indestructible," Ginny chuckled.

"He is still walking, is all I can say." SnapShot smiled at her and stopped in front of a fairly none-descript door with a brass nameplate embossed with 'Ginny McCade' and a small picture of the sun and world on it. "Here we are, your room."

"I meant when I finished changing and caught up with him," she smirked. "Thanks! And here I thought I'd wind up having a roommate," she chuckled.

"Nah," SnapShot shook his head and opened the door. "We've got lots of space, and the Prof is big on having personal space to retreat to. The key is on the dresser, but there's a master passkey that can open the door if they need to."

"Wow," she rumbled, looking into the room. It was like something out of a _very_ nice hotel, done up in her favorite light blues. "This is incredible."

"This whole place it." He grinned and leaned against the doorframe as she explored the large bed, desk, table, chairs, dresser and open space. It didn't take her long to throw open the drapes by the window, leaning up a bit to look out at her view of the ocean, her tail wagging a mile a minute.

"Where do those other doors go," she asked, looking back at SnapShot over her shoulder.

"That one," he motioned to a full-length mirror that took up the entire sliding door, "is the walk in closet. "The other one is your bathroom. There's even a Jacuzzi in it." He grinned.

"Are you _sure_ this is a boarding school?" she asked incredulously. "It's more like a five-star hotel!"

"Oh, it's a boarding school. Believe me." SnapShot grinned devilishly. "Just wait until morning and classes start. It's got great perks though."

"Looks like it," Ginny grinned back, still wagging. "And here I thought boarding schools were supposed to be boring places you shipped people you didn't want around most of the time."

"Not this one." SnapShot's bland and white tail started to wag bluringly fast. "Do you like water?"

"Oh yeah," she grinned. "I _am_ a Lab, after all. Lemme guess; you do too? You're _way_ too enthusiastic about the tubs for it to just be a casual interest," she smirked, winking again.

"You better believe it." He grinned nearly wide enough to crack his face open. "You should see the pools they have here. Yes, that's plural. But the Jacuzzi is incredible to lounge with a friend in." He winked at her, approaching a bit.

"Well, if we're not expected anywhere," Ginny grinned, "I could certainly come up with worse things to do with the time."

SnapShot blinked, too surprised to hear yes so quickly to cover for a moment. Then he grinned even wider. "The Prof will yell if we take too long." He promised, his entire body vibrating with excitement as he headed to the bathroom.

Chuckling a bit, Ginny opened up one of her suitcases and pulled out her swimsuit, changed quickly and following him in.

"Took you long enough." SnapShot grinned up at her from shoulder deep in the water, his long black and white fur floating gently in the currents.

"Well, a girl has to have some modesty," she chuckled, sliding into the water quickly. "Besides," she added, sticking out her tongue playfully as she let some of her anxiety from earlier in the day soak out, "speed's your thing, not mine."

"That is true," he grinned mischievously and darted over to kiss her on the cheek before returning to his position on the other side of the Jacuzzi before she'd even registered the touch. "Nothing faster."

"Speed isn't always the best thing, you know," she winked, sliding over next to him. "Though I suppose it is one way to keep from getting slapped if somebody objects."

"That is the general idea." He smiled at her, his breath quickening sharply as he breathed in his own arousal.

"Three weeks without anybody to flirt with has been getting to you, hasn't it," she asked him, glancing down at his tail, draped across his lap beneath the water as she started to pick up on his scent as well.

"It's like _forever_." He made a face. "You have no idea what it's like at fast forward like this. Minutes turn to hours, weeks are just too long to think about."

"Oh," Ginny said, ducking her head a bit. "Just thought you moved fast... didn't know everything else slowed down."

"It's kind of a requirement not to splat myself when running." He cracked a lopsided grin. "It's usually fun, until somebody says to wait."

"And then you're going nowhere fast, huh?" Ginny chuckled a bit, putting an arm around his shoulders and _felt_ the level of confusion and tension in his body even as her nose was inundated with his arousal. "I can see where that'd get frustrating."

"Very." SnapShot swallowed and nodded, looking at her with slightly confusion and dilated brown eyes that were all but black now. A quick choice and he leaned forward to kiss her lightly on the mouth.

She returned the kiss gently, pulling back a bit after a moment. "Something wrong? You seemed worried for a few moments."

"No," he smiled and leaned close for another kiss, lingering this time and thrilled beyond belief that she seemed to actually be interested in him. "Just a bit surprised." He chuckled and lightly ran one hand down her side as they moved closer together and he breathed deeply of her slightly aroused scent.

"Can't imagine why," she smiled, rubbing his sides lightly. "Unless it's because somebody's actually moving a bit faster than you," she added, leaning up to kiss him again.

He said nothing and pulled her against him as all thoughts of why she was saying yes were banished by hormones and the soft female against him. The feel of her hips against his and her legs against the outside of his was nearly enough to make him come right then. Ginny ran her hand along his back, then sneaked around between them to reach down between his legs to caress his balls with the tips of her fingers. She licked out at his lips with just the tip of her tongue as he whimpered softly and trembled in building need. His hands roamed over her body, too fast to be caressing but decidedly sexual. She only realized he'd stripped her swimming suit off when his mouth closed around a nipple. She gasped sharply, the arousal in her scent steadily getting stronger as the gasp turned to a soft groan.

"S-SnapShot," she tried to say, her mind not quite sure what she wanted to tell him, just knowing there was _something_. "Slow down...."

"Slow, right." He panted, trying to think of what 'slow' meant in this context and not sure, other than he shouldn't get inside her yet, no matter how much his full sheath and hard cock wanted to sink into that warm body he was tasting. He drew a relatively deep breath and nuzzled her right breast before taking the bare nipple into his mouth to tease with teeth and tongue.

She groaned, trying to focus on explaining, which he certainly wasn't making any easier. "Just haven't ... really... gone this far before," she panted, rubbing the inside of his thighs and stroking his back gently as he continued to suckle and stroke her.

"Do you want to?" He managed to ask and spread his knees to open her thighs to his explorative hand of the ruff of thicker fur between her legs.

"Oh yes," she groaned, the sound trailing off into a hiss when his fingers gently pressed against the nub of her clit. "Just... have to be careful...." She shifted her hand down between them, fumbling just a little until she found his rigid shaft, stroking it lightly.

SnapShot gasped sharply and stiffened against her body, his voice sharp and incoherent. "Just ... a second." He whispered and made it back quite literally in under one second to squirm under her in the water and lifted her up slightly. "A rubber." He shuddered as he slid his hand further back between her legs to spread the swollen lips a bit further apart.

"Glad one of us is thinking," she chuckled slightly, before groaning as the smell of their arousal blended in the steam from the tub, the water caressing both their sexes as she shifted up along his body to kiss him heatedly. "Ready?"

"Yes." He moaned and pressed up as he guided her down with his hands on her hips. It was pure agony not let himself go completely, but he'd be damned if he was going to do that to the first girl to be this nice to him, much less on her first time.

She whimpered slightly, gripping him tightly as he started to slide into her sex, feeling her body spread for him. It felt incredible, even given the pain she could already feel starting to build.

"Oh God," she groaned, trying to get ready for what she knew was coming. "Please... inside me...."

He nodded against her chest and ran his tongue around one nipple as he worked a hand between them. Despite the tight confines his fingers found her clit and rubbed it at just the speed that worked for him when he got himself off in a hurry. Apparently, it worked for her too.

She let out a strangled, startled cry, her insides spasming as she climaxed hard after no more than a few seconds of his attentions. He took the opening of her extreme pleasure to drive into her until the lips of her sex were kissing his knot.

His howl followed hers not seconds later as he let go of his control and thrust up into her at full speed. His arms tightened around her painfully as instinct drove him to try to press his knot into her body even though it was far too swollen already.

She cried out again, in the mix of pain and pleasure as she tried pressing down against him, not able to come anywhere _near_ matching his pace, but surrendering to the same instinct. The pain of his entrance was fading away quickly, replaced by the intense sensation of his cock deep inside of her. She gripped his hips in a futile attempt to pull him even deeper.

He wanted to get to the bed, to lay her on her back and truly spread her legs to pound into her every way he could think of until even he collapsed, but right now he didn't dare break whatever magic made her kiss him and say yes So he hugged her hips tightly against his own and licked her breasts and tried to make her howl in pleasure at least once for every time he did.

Eventually, she just collapsed against him in the pool, gasping raggedly as she tried to breathe. She ached in ways she didn't know she could, her entire body completely spent and exhausted.

"Oh God," she groaned, holding him tightly. "Can't ... can't take much more ...."

Her words were nearly drowned out by SnapShot's screaming howl as he drenched the inside of the condom again, his body trembling almost as much as hers. Despite that, he was still rock hard and pulsing inside her as he held her and nuzzled her neck affectionately.

"That was incredible," she rumbled, licking at his neck and shoulders as she nuzzled him back. "And you're still going?"

"Mmm, easily." He rumbled and shivered at her attentions. "Maybe we can try this on the bed sometime?" He suggested, not actually expecting a yes but emboldened by the last half hour enough to try.

"Maybe sometime," she smiled slightly. "Why do you keep sounding like you can't really believe this is happening?"

"Umm, cause I've seen Twilight Zone episodes that were more believable?" He blurted out without thinking and immediately regretted it. "Not like that." He tried to correct his intent. "In a good way."

"Well," she chuckled slightly, with a sheepish shrug. "I guess I'm not really much for playing hard to get if I'm interested. Though I have to admit ... I hadn't really been expecting it to go this far at first. Don't regret it though," she added, nuzzling his neck.

"Good." He murmured softly, more relieved than he could admit to as he held her tightly. "We should probably clean up, before somebody comes looking." He said, reluctant to move but having difficulty sitting still.

"Yeah," she chuckled slightly, before she remembered something. "Oh crap... my folks are probably still here, talking with Mister Jurnix...."

"Yeah, they're waiting for us to get back from me showing you around." He shrugged.

"Well, I suppose that's one way of putting it," she chuckled, blushing. "Just as long as there's some sort of reason we've got if they ask where we've been for... however long it's been." She rested against him for a moment, smiling and nuzzling him again, before she sighed reluctantly. "I suppose getting cleaned up means we've got to move, huh?"

"Well, yes, but it means more time under the water." He grinned at her, his tail wagging under the water, which rocked his hips against hers. "A shower."

"Mmm...." She groaned a bit as he rocked against her, his shaft still deep inside of her. "That does sound good. So," she smirked, "are you so excited just because you like the water, or do you have ulterior motives here?"

"Both," he winked at her with a playful grin. "It's faster to get cleaned up with me doing the scrubbing." He nuzzled her intentionally rocked up inside her again as his hands roamed her body.

"You keep doing that," she pointed out with another soft groan, "and we're never going to get out of here ... though I could think of worse places to spend the rest of my life," she added with a smirk.

"But not to get caught by your parents." He mumbled and stilled himself with difficulty.

"True," she agreed quietly, finally pulling herself off of him slowly, squeezing her eyes shut with a moan as he slid out of her. "But you know ... if you can handle the clean-up fast enough, I might be able to make it worth your while to behave," she winked.

"Oh, I never could resist a speed challenge." He grinned, eagerness in every line of his still aroused body. "Get in the shower and I'll handle the rest."

She climbed out of the Jacuzzi, pausing to grab her swimsuit as her fur drained out some before she headed over to the shower, looking over to him with a grin.

"Well? Care to join me?"

"Oh, yes." He grinned darted over, shampooing her fur with hands that felt more like a breeze that made suds suddenly appear in her fur, and just as suddenly rinsed her off. "Sooo ... fast enough for you?" He rumbled in her floppy ear from behind as his hands gently massaged her breasts.

"I guess so," she grinned and turned around to face him, surprised at just how fast he actually had been. "So... I seem to remember offering to make it worth your while," she winked, running her hands down his sides to cup his balls as the water poured over them. "Of course, we'll have to try and keep from getting _too_ messy," she winked again.

"I'll just clean you up again." He offered with a frantically wagging tail and wide grin.

"That would work," Ginny grinned, stroking his shaft again and kissing him playfully. "Though I've got something in mind that won't involve _too_ much cleaning up. And it'll mean I'll be walking, instead of limping, when we head down," she chuckled.

SnapShot simply moaned, his attention focused on her hand rather than her words.

She smiled, leaning close to him and pressing his back against the wall as she started to stroke him faster, shifting her other hand down to squeeze his knot as she kissed him.

The squeeze made him whimper, his hips moving of their own accord into her hand as he began to shudder, nearly as eager to come as when she'd first touched him.

"Go ahead," she rumbled, nuzzling his neck and continuing her attentions to his cock, shifting to brush the tip of it against the soft fur of her nether-lips. "Let it go...."

The touch and encouragement was far more than he could take and he howled, shuddering as his cock pulsed in her hand and his balls emptied themselves again, spraying her clean fur with creamy, goody come.

She grinned as she slowly stopped stroking his shaft. While she waited for him to finish recovering, she touched a finger to his sticky seed, bringing it up to her mouth and licking it off playfully.

"Had enough?"

"Not if it's on offer." He grinned eagerly at her and slid down to his knees to nuzzle her sex. "You?"

"Mmm, not if it's like that," she rumbled. "Sixty-nine?"

"Sure," he rumbled, his tail speeding up with a teasing lick between her lower lips.

"Then get down on your back, handsome," she rumbled, stroking his head and trying to remember to focus on returning the favor. "Unless you'd rather be on top."

"Back is good." He chuckled with an eager grin and pulled her down with him, cushioning her short fall with his body as his muzzle found her sex again.

She groaned as she worked around so she was facing his sex, gripping his hips and licking his cock slowly. She felt more than heard the results of her efforts in his moans vibrating threw her and the speed of his tongue lapping at her eagerly. She answered with a moan of her own, sliding her muzzle down his shaft, working it with her tongue and teeth as she fondled his balls and knot. Her sex quivered some as he lapped at it, her sweet juices flowing freely to mix with the shower water raining down on them.

She was still building up when she felt him tense under her and his hips thrust up. She suckled his shaft eagerly, moaning around it as she tried to draw his seed up from his balls. It didn't take her long, his whimpering groans sharpening as his body tightened the last bit to pump come into her mouth in bursts that came too fast for her to swallow.

She pulled back, startled as she coughed. She hadn't been expecting _that_ to speed up too. Despite it, her own body was teetering close to the edge, and she groaned loudly as his seed sprayed her face and chest.

After a moment of recovery, SnapShot gripped her hips securely and bent his full eager attention to making her scream. Soon, she threw her head back with a howl of pleasure that echoed through the shower, flooding his face with her juices as her sex spasmed above him and around his tongue.

He didn't let up a bit, intent on pushing her to her limit now that he had her on the brink. She groaned again, her body responding to his touch and attentions with a second, though smaller, orgasm. As much as she might have wanted to keep going, though, they _did_ have to get moving soon.

"SnapShot," she groaned, "can't ... we've got to ... stop for awhile...."

"All right," he sounded as disappointed as she was. "You need to get cleaned up again though." He grinned at her and slowly circled a thumb around her fully erect clit.

"Yeah," she groaned, shifting off of him with a parting kiss to the tip of his shaft. "But if we don't get going, somebody's going to catch us. Not really the proper end to a day like this," she smiled.

"No, it's not." He grinned up at her and grabbed the shampoo. "One more SnapShot Special on the way." He kissed her playfully on the nose and sudsed her up again.

"You know," she grinned, rinsed off almost before she was even done saying that, "a girl could _really_ get used to this sort of thing. Where do they keep towels around here?"

"Don't need them." He grinned widely and slapped an extra knob next the water controls. "It's all forced air."

"Very cool," Ginny grinned. "Seems like everything around you's built to be fast and simple," she smirked.

"Nothing slow stays around me," he grinned and helped her to fluff her fur and dry off. "You definitely aren't slow, beautiful."

"That's one way of putting it, handsome," she grinned back, finishing with her fur and trying to help him with his a little. "I've heard a couple others that were less flattering, but I think I prefer yours."

"Now who would want to say something less flattering about you?" He asked, almost completely serious as he tipped her muzzle down a bit to look at him.

"High school gossips," she shrugged slightly. "Take something that's kind of true, blow it out of proportion, and use it to prop themselves up. You know the type, right?"

SnapShot nodded. "A little too well." He said quietly, still for a moment.

"You were on the receiving end a little too often, huh?" She reached out and put her hands on his shoulders gently.

"A scrawny geek that runs fast? Oh hell yeah." He muttered quietly, then shrugged it off and smiled at her. "It's just part of the package."

"Hey," she grinned, leaning forward to kiss his cheek lightly, "if you ask me, it's a pretty nice package. There are jocks out there who'd kill for your stamina," she winked.

"In everything," he grinned at her with a flash of pride. "I'm faster than a Cheetah and can run forever."

"Very cool," she grinned. "Hope you can keep from showing off _too_ much though; sometimes a girl likes to go running without having to dodge sonic booms."

"For you, I can keep it under that." He smiled and licked her muzzle softly.

She rumbled, kissing him gently. "You're a sweetie, you know? You're going to have to show me whatever you have for a running track around here," she grinned.

"And the pools," he grinned and nuzzled her neck. "Anything you could want to do, it's around here."

"Something tells me I'll probably have to look for the pools on my own," she smirked, chucking and returning the nuzzle. "Or we're going to give _somebody_ a show one of these days.... Hmm, we should probably get going, or we're going to start getting too affectionate again," she pouted teasingly.

"There is always tonight." He grinned and reluctant stepped away to get dressed before she'd managed to step out. "Now, on to the tour where we have to remain dressed."

"Tonight works," Ginny grinned back, getting dressed herself, making sure she grabbed the same clothes she'd worn before. "They don't check to make sure everybody's in the right rooms, or have a curfew, do they?"

"Nah, he doesn't care as long as you show up for classes regularly and don't get in trouble on the outside." He grinned, dancing slightly on his toes.

"Come on," she grinned, pulling her shoes on the rest of the way and heading for the door. "Before you get so wound up you explode."

"Right," SnapShot grinned. "I'll just run it off a bit when the tour is over. Or wear you out again." He whispered suggestively in her ear.

"We'll have to see," she smiled, winking at him. "But let's act like you'll be running it off, while my folks are around, okay handsome?"

"No problem." He nodded eagerly. "I don't want to get in trouble. It's just a side effect."

"What," she chuckled, looking around the hall, "being antsy, or getting in trouble? Hmm.... Well, which way should we go?"

"Both," he chuckled slightly and grinned at her. "This way. I'd say that breathing gets me in trouble, but I've gotten in trouble for not doing that too."

"Not breathing is usually a bit more trouble, I'd say," Ginny chuckled, wagging her tail as they started down. "I know _I've_ always been partial to doing it. Besides, some types of trouble are fun," she grinned.

"Definitely," he grinned back conspiratorially, still not quite believing all this was really happening to him. "Almost as much fun as getting out of it with no one the wiser."

"Yeah, not much better than getting away with something like that," she smiled, her manner getting a little more serious as she though about some of the 'fun' she'd had like that lately. "At least as long as you meant to get into the trouble in the first place."

"Of course." He nodded, catching her mood.

"Sorry," she said, ducking her head a bit and blushing. "Just that the last time some of my friends and I went out to get into trouble, it got a bit out of hand. Think I mentioned it earlier."

"It happens sometimes." He put a hand on her arm with a gentle squeeze. "It's part of life."

"Yeah," she nodded, letting out a shuddering breath and smiling at him slightly. "Only happened a couple weeks ago; guess it's still getting to me more than I like to admit."

"Your first time, I take it." He guessed, his voice surprisingly soft and understanding.

"First time I did ... whatever it is I can do," she nodded. "And the first time I almost got myself killed, if that's what you meant. Were you freaked out by your powers the first time they worked too?"

"Not that I remember." He thought hard to go back to that moment so long ago in his mind. "It all happened really fast, even for me."

"Can't remember what happened?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "Memory isn't my strong suit for most things."

"Figures," she smiled slightly. "Kind of envy you that, honestly. Some things are better forgotten."

"It's not all that fun, really." He said quietly. "Most days I'd rather remember, than have anything older than the past few hours be kind of a foggy generalization of what happened."

"Sorry," she said softly. "Didn't know you meant it like that."

"There's something in between?" He glanced over curiously. "What did you mean?"

"I thought you meant you forgot things that happened fast," she explained. "Things a lot of folks forget about, that happen when they've got their adrenaline pumping, or when they aren't paying attention."

"Oh," he shook his head. "Not so lucky. Some mornings I'm lucky to remember what my schedule for the day is, or even what day it is. It gets really inconvenient sometimes."

"I can see where it would," she nodded. "Like I said, I didn't think you meant it was that bad.... Is there anything that helps you remember better?"

"Repetition," he sort of chuckled. "If I go over something enough times, it'll stick. Mostly I just keep a few scraps of paper with important things like phone numbers on them and deal with the fact that I'll never be much of anything scholastically. I'm smart enough, I just can't do it."

"Well, if having somebody help you with studying helps, I'd be happy to join in," she smiled. "For more than just the anatomy lessons, too," she winked.

"Those I will never tire of repeating," he grinned lustfully at her, wiping the expression from his face just before opening a large double door.

"I see you are pleased with your tour so far," Professor Jurnix smiled at her from where he was seated across from her parents.

"Very pleased, Sir," Ginny smiled, nodding to him. "This place is incredible."

"Excellent," the Foxbat inclined his head slightly. "If you feel up to it, perhaps you both will join us for a more extended tour and meet the other students and instructors."

"That'd be nice," she nodded. "Get a feel for what things are like on the rest of the grounds."

"Perhaps the pools?" He offered. "Or would you prefer to end the tour there?"

"Knowing Ginny," her father chuckled as SnapShot flushed brightly under his dark fur, "it would probably be best to end it there."

"Dad," she groaned, rolling her eyes and blushing.

"Then come," he chuckled softly and stood to walk sedately out of the library. Ginny's parents followed along, her mother patted her shoulder a little with a chuckle as they started out.

"The older students are working on their gifts now." Jurnix explained as he led them through the mansion's main hall towards the back of the building.

"Is it strange for them to not know what their gift is when they come here?" Ginny stayed close to SnapShot as they followed the fox-bat, doing her best to remember her way through the mansion.

"To an extent," Jurnix nodded. "Most have an idea of what they can do, but we are all here to learn and perfect our gifts."

"What sort of training is usually done?" Mrs. McCade asked. "We didn't think to ask about that earlier."

"It is very individual outside of the high school and collage courses to keep them up on their academic studies. Most involve learning to control and use their gifts and how to blend into society without ignoring who and what they are."

"All right," the older lab nodded with a smile as Ginny looked at him curiously.

"College courses? You handle those here too?"

"Yes," the Foxbat nodded easily. "While it is not an issue yet with any of our students, we are prepared for it."

"Cool," she mused. "Sounds like you're set up for just about anything here."

"We certainly try to be." Jurnix smiled at her.

"That is part of the reason we're here," her father chuckled as they walked outside to a grand view of the sea over a cliff perhaps half a mile away and nearly every form of outdoor entertainment facility imaginable. Spread out before them were pools, courts for tennis, racquetball and basketball, fields for football and soccer, a racing track, several obstacle courses and playgrounds spread out among gardens, grassy areas, and fountains.

"Wow," Ginny grinned, wagging her tail as she looked out over everything again, seeing if either of the other students SnapShot had mentioned were anywhere to be seen and not spotting anyone. "This place is incredible."

"Thank you." Jurnix smiled softly at her.

"You can swim in the ocean too." SnapShot piped up. "There's a great sand beach and lagoon too." He waved towards the south of the cliffs.

"Great," Ginny grinned.

"Just be sure you make it back in afterwards, kiddo," her father said seriously. "No missing classes because you're out swimming."

"She will not miss any classes." Jurnix chuckled slightly. "We make sure everyone is found for class. It is far too easy to get into serious trouble when you are still learning about your gifts for us to assume someone is just late."

"I'll try to make sure that doesn't happen too often," Ginny blushed. "I'm usually pretty good about those sort of things, after all, unless -"

"Unless you're distracted," her father chuckled. "We know. You just distract a little easily once in awhile."

"Uhm ... right," she said, ducking her head as SnapShot snickered.

"I'm sure everything will work out." Jurnix assured them softly with an amused look at the youngsters as they crossed the grounds to a large building.

"It will," Mrs. McCade agreed with a chuckle of her own.

"What building is this?" Ginny asked, hoping to change the subject.

"The gym." SnapShot piped up. "It's where we practice doing what we do."

"It is where the others are right now." He paused at a heavy thump against the wall. "That was likely Kris." He chuckled softly and opened the door.

"Good morning, Professor." A deep female voice greeted them. "Would this be our new student and her parents?"

"Yes, Surauli." He nodded to the nearly black female Eagle overseeing three older teens in the building. "This is Ginny and Mr. and Ms. McCade."

The older Lab stepped forward, extending his hand to her as she floated down, though she was clearly not using her wings. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss...?"

"Surauli." She quirked the edge of her sharp beak up in an avian smile and accepted the handshake with confident grace, something that didn't seem to surprise him much. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss...?"

"Surauli." She quirked the edge of her sharp beak up in an avian smile and accepted the handshake with confident grace. "I do not have a surname."

"Understood," he nodded with a slight smile of his own. "You're one of the instructors, I presume?"

"Yes," she inclined her head slightly then cocked it to look at the teens watching them from a slight distance. "These are our senior students. Kris and Sandy," she motioned at the black Lion and tawny Lioness, "and Samantha Wilder." She indicated the largest of the group, a dapple gray Percheron mare.

"Can we go meet them," Ginny asked, "or are they still working on their training?"

"Both," Jurnix chuckled slightly at the threesome that were watching as much as being watched.

"Welcome to the School, Ginny." Sandy smiled as she walked up with a natural muscular grace of command. "I hope Collin here hasn't been too much of a nuisance."

"Gaia!" The younger canine whined in protest.

"What, haven't you told her yet, SnapShot?" Kris rumbled in amusement.

"No, he hasn't," Ginny giggled. "And no, he hasn't been a nuisance."

"Miracles happen." The tawny Lioness raised a thick eyebrow at the black and white canine. "He's usually in trouble by now."

"I think two troublemakers cancelled each other out," Ginny grinned, glancing back at her parents, who just shook their heads.

"Professor Jurnix, I believe that you might have your hands a bit fuller than you thought," her father chuckled.

"I'm sure we can handle things." The Foxbat smiled with both sympathy and certainty.

"Yeah, she'll be much easier to keep up with than speedster over there." Kris smirked.

"True, we can _catch_ her." Samantha chuckled a bit.

"I think that's a subtle warning to pick your targets, kiddo," her mother chuckled, shaking her head.

"Come on, Mom," Ginny grinned, looking back over her shoulder. "You know that's not the sort of trouble I usually go for. I'll leave the practical jokes to the pro," she winked at SnapShot.

"Oh, that's right, blame all the trouble on me." SnapShot rolled his eyes and pretended to pout.

"Only the ones you do." Sandy promised with a slight smirk. "There _are_ two telepaths here after all."

"Why'd you even bother with practical jokes then? That's the time to look for other ways to get attention," Ginny pointed out in a stage-whisper.

"I don't joke around here." SnapShot grumbled and crossed his arms, glaring ineffectually at Sandy. "That rep followed me here. I've been a good boy."

"Assuming you can keep your attention on anything." Kris smirked at him. "You're the poster pup for ADD."

"You think I don't know that!" SnapShot suddenly snarled at the much bigger male, his long, silky fur bristling as his fists clenched Ginny took a step back, startled at the sudden change.

"That is quite enough." Jurnix interrupted the impending fight with a meaningful look at Kris, who actually took a step back and looked away from the old Foxbat in submission. "You know I do not approve of disrespecting others for _any_ reason, and especially for what their gifts bring them."

"Yes, sir." Kris rumbled softly, submissively, as Sandy backed up the Professor's look.

"You okay?" Ginny asked SnapShot quietly as he started to calm down.

"Yeah." He muttered with a shallow nod as his fur settled. "He's just a jerk sometimes."

"Sorry I gave him the shot," she said, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"It's okay." He smiled slightly up at her and earned a curiously raised eyebrow from Sandy, though the tawny Lioness said nothing.

" _I truly expected better of you._ " Jurnix reprimanded Kris privately and forcefully. " _You are a senior here. You_ know _better._ "

"Yes, sir." The black Lion whispered, thoroughly cowed for the moment.

"My apologies for that outburst." The Professor turned his attention back to the Labs. "Some are still learning to practice the full meaning of the tolerance we stand for."

"Understandable," Mr. McCade nodded slightly. "It's a bad habit that can be too hard to unlearn. It was impressive, how easily you handled it."

"Kris knows right from wrong," Jurnix said simply as he gently guided the tour outside. "And he knows that what is wrong is not tolerated here."

"He doesn't like the extra chores that go with messing up, either." SnapShot piped up as the gym door closed behind them.

"I'd bet that works fairly well," Mrs. McCade chuckled slightly, glancing back at her daughter with a slight smirk.

"I firmly believe in providing appropriate consequences for all actions, right and wrong." Jurnix explained.

"That's good," she nodded. "A pleasant change from the places that seem dedicated to letting things get worse until somebody gets hurt."

"Mutants can not afford to be perceived as a threat by the general population." Jurnix explained simply. "Not if we are going to be accepted into it."

"Do you really think th-we'll ever really be accepted though?" Ginny asked. "There's so much hate building up already, and mutants haven't really been known for a long time."

"Like any minority, in time society will accept us." He nodded with a calm certainty. "Unlike previous minorities, I intend to avoid the period of persecution and slavery beforehand." The Foxbat looked at her solidly with huge round eyes. "It is not hate that is building, Ginny. It is fear. A not entirely unfounded fear that we must counter."

"What methods do you intend to use to do this, Professor?" her mother asked.

"Setting a good example," he began. "This school will become an example of how all People can get along and that mutants are no different from any other group. We are individuals. Some are bad, most are good, and each must be judged for who they are, not what they were born as." He regarded the Labs levelly. "It is little different from the path homosexuals must travel."

"All right," she nodded, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry if the question seemed blunt, but there have been some unusual plans for groups to gain recognition through history, as I'm sure you know."

"For what it's worth, Professor Jurnix," Mr. McCade said, "you have our support, if you could ever use it."

"Thank you." The Foxbat inclined his head and smiled. "It is appreciated." He shifted his attention to Ginna's mother. "And I appreciate the bluntness of your question, and your concern for what your daughter has becoming involved in. You are always welcome to come and visit. There are always rooms available for family."

"Thank you," Mrs. McCade nodded with a smile. "That's good to know. Are there any problems with her coming home once in awhile, for family get-togethers and the like? We don't have them often, but it would be nice to know if we have to schedule them around a schedule here."

"Not at all." Jurnix shook his head slightly. "She is welcome to go home whoever it will not interfere with her education. A few days away will not be a problem as long as she keeps up with her studies normally."

"Excellent," she nodded, glancing back at Ginny. "That was something we were a little worried about, not that she'd ever let anybody know."

"Such would be unsuitable for a teenager." Jurnix chuckled softly.

"Yeah, Mom," Ginny grinned. "I _do_ have an image to keep up."

"Watch it, kiddo, or I'll make sure to point you out to Aunt Hazel next time she's over," her mother smirked.

"Yes Mom," the younger Lab blushed, ducking her head a bit.

"You have aunts and everything?" SnapShot looked at her with wide eyes.

"Uhm... yeah," she nodded, looking over at him. "You don't have much family, do you?"

"Nah," he shrugged. "Just me."

"Sorry," she said softly, "I didn't know."

"Hey, it's no biggy. I do well enough for myself." He grinned up at her. "I brought it up, you know."

"Okay," she nodded, smiling a bit. "And you're right, you have done pretty well," she added with a grin.

"Thanks." He smiled shyly. "Being a mutant is the best thing that ever happened to me. I've got a home now."

"Something that everybody deserves to have," Mr. McCade nodded with a smile. "This place really is incredible, in a lot of ways. At least a match for the people it was built for."

"We do the best we can." Jurnix smiled slightly. "There would be much less hatred in the world if everyone had a home and place to belong where they were appreciated for who they are."

"Definitely an admirable goal," he nodded. "There is another question that occurred to me, that I didn't think to ask about earlier. What sort of medical facilities do you have here? It's not far from town, but sports injuries can be fairly severe for normal students, I would imagine things only get worse when you're dealing with people with extraordinary capabilities."

"I think Dad's trying to ask what happens if I manage to break my neck diving into the wrong end of the pool or something," Ginny blushed.

"Come with me," he nodded with an understanding smile and headed back into the main building. "We have the finest medical facilities on the continent and both doctors and our staff nurse are familiar with the peculiarities of treating mutants. We do a genetic and physical workup on everyone who stays here so we are ready in case of injuries. In particular any likely effects that various medications may have outside the norm."

Ginny made a sour face, sticking the tip of her tongue out a bit. "So I'll probably have to check in for a physical sometime soon, right?"

"Sounds like it," her father chuckled. "But, then, I think you were due for it sometime soon either way."

"It will be part of these first few days, before you get into the regular pattern of classes." Jurnix confirmed with a nod and turned down a hall that quickly started to look more like the pristine clean of a hospital, minus the stuffiness and smells, than the rest of the mansion. "It should not be too traumatic."

"It's a physical, I don't think it counts if you don't mind it," Ginny mock-grumbled, looking around at the facilities. "You weren't exaggerating when you said this place was top of the line, were you?"

"No," he smiled over her. "Understanding who works how and how they live is very important to keeping everyone healthy. Part is also because Sandra and I are both very involved in the field."

"Do you handle nursing courses here?"

"We can," he nodded with a curious look.

"It's something I was thinking of going into," Ginny explained. "I was wondering if it was something I might be able to work on here."

"I'm sure Ms. Sanders, our staff nurse, would enjoy having a student that actually liked going to medical." He chuckled with a knowing look. "It would be something of a first."

"Well, Ginny won't shock her _too_ much," her mother chuckled. "She's not so crazy about being a patient, though we've managed to teach her that some things shouldn't be toughed out."

"Well, it's hard to keep playing when you're hurting too much to move," Ginny shrugged slightly. "But I'm guessing that most people around here tough it out a little _too_ much sometimes?"

"Certainly as far as Ms. Sanders is concerned." Jurnix chuckled slightly. "What do you play, Ginny?"

"Running and swimming, mostly," she answered with a smile. "Not too much for the full track and field routine, but I like running. Still easy enough to pull something, or sprain an ankle. From what I've heard though, I'll be hard-pressed to compete with the local star without putting myself in the hospital," she grinned, looking at SnapShot.

"He is in a class by himself." The Professor chuckled, making the Border Collie duck his head slightly. "But you will be running against the non-speedster students."

"Cool," she grinned. "I'm not sure why, but I got the impression most of them were more into weights than running."

"With Lions and Horses, what did you expect?" SnapShot piped up with a teasing grin. "But the Ladies are fast for all that mass."

"Thanks for the warning," she grinned.

"Just remember that that means you can't just skip your morning run if you're up too late," her father chuckled.

"Be fun to see who's faster," Ginny nodded with a chuckle. "Been awhile since I've raced anybody but myself."

"Really?" He cocked his head. "Why?"

"Like I said, I'm not too much for the track and field teams," she shrugged. "I usually run because I like to. It can be fun to race, but I usually just got out and took a run around a few blocks in the morning for exercise."

"Don't get up early for it around here," SnapShot snickered. "It's part of morning exercise."

"Thanks for the warning," she grinned.

"Just remember that that means you can't just skip your morning run if you're up too late," her father chuckled.

"I haven't done that in a long time, Dad," Ginny groaned. "At least not during the week, and I should be okay even if they do have us do them during the weekends."

"Not for most." Jurnix commented as he guided them out of the main medical facility. "We do keep to the traditional six days on, two days off for the most part."

"That's good," Ginny smiled. "See, Dad? I should be fine."

"We know, Ginny," he chuckled. "Parent's job description, remember?"

"All right," she sighed dramatically. "So, uhm ... what's next on the tour?"

"The classrooms and the entertainment rooms." Jurnix supplied easily as they worked back into the mansion proper.

"The rec rooms here are _unbelievable_!" SnapShot grinned widely.

"If they weren't, it'd be the first thing that wasn't," Ginny grinned back. "This whole place is amazing."

"It will be much more so when we have our full compliment of students and teachers." Jurnix smiled fondly for the dream. "This is just the beginning."

Mrs. McCade nodded. "I take it you plan on filling the facilities eventually?"

"Yes," he nodded easily. "I built this complex for the school with the intent on seeing it full in time as a safe haven not just for mutants, but for all who need a sanctuary for what they were born as."

"It sounds like you'll have your hands full fairly soon," she smiled. "I hope we'll see the day your dream is a reality."

"I am sure you will." The Foxbat smiled with a slight nod as they came near a series of large double doors. "I'm sure they will explore them more fully later," he chuckled softly. "But these are the main floor recreation room." He said as he opened one double door to show them inside. "They contain various games, TV sets, tables, sitting areas and one the far end of the hall is a movie and stage theater."

"Wow," Ginny breathed. "You were right SnapShot ... this _is_ unbelievable."

Jurnix smiled, a decidedly pleased expression. "I don't suppose you enjoy sailing, Ginny?"

"Haven't really tried it before," she said, still a little stunned. It was like this place was more of a second city than a boarding school.

"We are designed to be completely self-sufficient if it is necessary." Jurnix supplied.

"It's a little strange to actually see it," she said, blushing. "I mean... wow!"

"Thank you." He smiled at her with more than a little pride showing in large brown eyes. "I wanted to create a place people would want to stay. Not a place misfits were sent."

"I think you've managed it, Professor," her father smiled. "I don't remember seeing her like this for a long time."

"There are resorts that are less interesting, Dad," Ginny pointed out seriously. "And I know this isn't one. Still, somebody could probably get lost in this place and not realize it for a month."

"That is what the computer is for," Jurnix smiled understandingly at her. "You will get your wrist-com after dinner along with a more formal orientation for your classes. It can guide you where you need to go."

"That and The Prof or Mar will come hunt you down if you get _really_ lost or late." SnapShot piped up and showed her his wrist-watch. "It's a really cool do-da. Voice activated and everything."

"And easier than carrying maps, I'll bet," Ginny chuckled, shaking her head a bit. "Is there _anything_ here that's normal?"

"Classes." Slingshot made a face and Jurnix chuckled.

"Many things are. "Meals, schedules, accountability, most of what you are expected to learn, the rules of conduct." He added.

"Well, you asked for something," Mr. McCade chuckled, as Ginny sighed slightly.

"Yeah," she chuckled, nodding sheepishly. "Most of them aren't really that bad, either," she admitted.

"That are not supposed to be." Jurnix nodded.

"Unless you're seriously anti-social." SnapShot piped up.

"Which I am _definitely_ not," Ginny said certainly. "I was talking more about the classes part, anyways," she chuckled.

"Hopefully you will enjoy most of the coursework." Jurnix commented as he led them foreword into the mansion.

"Well, according to some people, you've found a way to make just about anything interesting," she said, grinning at SnapShot.

"Ah, the words of the grateful can be inspiring," the Foxbat smiled at the now embarrassed pup. "We do try. Learning is always more effective when it captures the mind and imagination of the student and teacher."

"I had an English teacher like that last year," Ginny nodded. "Actually made the class kind of fun. Still, hard to believe you can do that with some of them."

"If they've got the right teachers, anything can be interesting," Mrs. McCade chuckled. "Even geometry, believe it or not."

"It's all in how it is presented." Jurnix smiled slightly. "And we focus on practical teaching here, more than rote lessons."

"That'll help," Ginny smiled. "Don't see how you can do it with some classes, though."

"Such as?" He prompted curiously as they walked out of the main building and into spectacular gardens, both formal and wild.

"Some of the advanced math, history, that sort of thing," Ginny said, looking around at the gardens.

"Ah, history is perhaps the easiest to make interesting." Jurnix smiled and SnapShot chuckled softly. "Field excursions, museum visits, live and holographic renditions of events ... there are so many ways to make it fascinating."

"Holographic?" Ginny and her parents all looked surprised about that.

"Among the other innovative technologies that have been incorporated into this school." He nodded. "While they are far from perfect, it is enough that you can walk through a scene and understand it with recognizable individuals and details."

Ginny paused for a moment, then shook her head with a bit of a chuckle. "Okay... I think you might have me there. This place is going to make it impossible to gripe about classes, isn't it?"

"Nothing's impossible." SnapShot grinned. "Just damn difficult."

"Maybe you two can practice some time," Mrs. McCade chuckled. "Between the two of you, you should be able to find something."

"Probably." SnapShot grinned a bit. "That's a tough one here."

"Either we'll find a way," Ginny grinned, "or we'll enjoy them too much to care."

"That is a good way to look at it." Jurnix smiled slightly at them. "The formal grounds end here," he motioned to the end of the garden. "But the property itself extends several miles in every direction. We are sitting on over fifteen thousand acres, most of it wilderness."

"What type of terrain?" Ginny asked, wagging her tail. "In general, of course."

"Mostly forest." SnapShot grinned. "Great hide and seek stuff. A big lake, rivers, even a cavern system."

"That you are not to enter without permission and proper gear," Jurnix cautioned them.

"Okay," Ginny nodded with a grin of her own. "Sounds like great camping grounds."

"And hunting, according to Lions." SnapShot grinned and only just resisted darting away as something caught his attention.

"There is a great deal of wildlife in the area," Jurnix nodded. "Though hunting is kept to a minimum."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Ginny grinned.

"She does most of her shooting with a camera, if anything," her fathered explained with a chuckle. "Though she does chase after the occasional squirrel."

"I haven't done that in years, Dad," she groaned, blushing a bit. "Besides, I probably couldn't get too good a run started up out there; the trees'd probably get in the way."

"Oh, there are spots." SnapShot grinned conspiratorially at her and made a point of ignoring the approving look Jurnix gave them. "The trees aren't _everywhere_."

"Well, last time I went squirrel chasing, I sorta hit the tree he ran up," Ginny blushed. "That's one habit I've tried to shie away from since. Still," she grinned, "there are enough other things to do in the woods, even without terrorizing the local wildlife."

"Like herding it." He sort of danced in place. "I can't help it. It's in the blood."

"It's hardly the strangest habit," Mrs. McCade chuckled. "Though the local wildlife might think otherwise."

"Yeah," Ginny giggled a bit, "but if there's anybody who could actually manage herding cats, it's probably be him."

"He can." Jurnix chuckled softly and SnapShot flushed a deep red under his fur. "At least until Sandy figures out how to trip him."

"You actually...?" Ginny tried to stifle a laugh at the mental image of him chasing after the big lioness. "And here I was just thinking of the little ones."

"Oh, those are easy." He smirked at her. "Those two could actually do damage if I mess up."

"Well, they'd have to catch you too," Ginny smirked back. "That's probably not too easy, once you manage to get back on your feet."

"Somehow," Mr. McCade chuckled, shaking his head slightly, "I don't think 'boring' is how you're going to be describing this place."

"That is one thing it is not." SnapShot grinned widely at the older Lab.

"Even if many subjects are considered so." Jurnix chuckled softly with an understanding smile.

"Even if many subjects are considered so." Jurnix chuckled softly with an understanding smile.

"Well," Ginny grinned, "it's part of the job description to complain about classes once in awhile."

"And then to complain about the lack of education the young have a few decades later." The Foxbat chuckled. "I'm sure if we can keep that one entertained," he motioned at SnapShot, "you won't be too board."

"No," she admitted, blushing a bit, "I think we established that earlier."

* * *

That night, Ginny hurried into her room with SnapShot just a bit ahead of her. They'd had dinner with the others, and had just been turned loose to have the rest of the night to themselves ... but first, she had to wonder about some of the hints Professor Jurnix had been dropping through the night.

"Uhm, SnapShot?" She closed the door behind her quietly, trying to pick out some of the examples of what had her wondering, in case he thought she was just being paranoid.

"Mmm?" He twisted on heal to look at her with an eager look on his face and a frantically waving tail.

"You think the Professor knows what we were up to earlier?" She blushed a bit beneath her fur. "I mean... it sure seems like he suspects it, if nothing else."

"Of course he knows," the Boarder Collie laughed softly and snuggled up close. "He hears thoughts."

"Oh," she blushed again, putting her arms around him. "I didn't know he was the guy who could do that. Well ... at least it doesn't sound like he minds," she chuckled.

"Given what those Lions get up to that _everybody_ can hear, I expect we're nothing unusual." He rumbled and pressed closer, his arousal clear against her leg.

"Didn't know they were sleeping together," she smiled, kissing him lightly. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about anything there... so, anything in particular planned for the night? As if I couldn't guess," she chuckled, pressing her leg against his hard-on.

"We're on free time until class in the morning," he licked at her jaw and ran his hands along her body, still not believing his luck that she'd not only said yes the first time, but wanted more.

"Well," she smiled, rubbing his back and thinking about the affectionate, submissive gesture and what he might mean by it, "why don't we take this to the bed, handsome?"

"Anything you want," he drew a sharp, deep breath and tried very hard not to bolt for it in his eagerness.

"Okay," she grinned, moving him over towards the large bed, not too slowly, but not exactly trying to set new records either. "You know, I'll bet I could just about make you explode without even touching you down there tonight," she winked.

"Please no," SnapShot could only whimper, his sharply triangular ears going limp at the thought of such a night and knowing she very easily could.

"I didn't mean the whole night," she grinned, kissing him again and leaning him back onto the bed. "Just until I got you undressed, I was thinking. After all, I couldn't possibly keep off that gorgeous body of yours all night," she rumbled and watched his entire body perk up and shudder at the promise.

"I'm all yours, beautiful." SnapShot made an eager sound and relaxed into almost complete submission to her direction.

Smiling, she worked his shirt loose, nuzzling his chest and stomach as she worked down to the growing expanse of bare fur. When she was just above his waistband, she started to lick and kiss at his stomach, slowly inching her way up his body, just behind his shirt as he whimpered and squirmed. The only action he really took was to press his tail up between her legs to wag it to urge her on. She rumbled hotly, urging him to raise his arms so she could strip his shirt off, licking at his nipples playfully as she rubbed her hips against his.

By the time she had his shirt off, her prediction made itself true with a series of high, barking cries and the hard thrusts up of his hips, not caring in the least that both their jeans were still on. Ginny smiled, holding him tightly as he climaxed, sliding the rest of the way up his body to nuzzle his neck.

"You have got to be the most eager guy I've ever met," she rumbled affectionately.

"I _am_ a hyper Boarder Collie." He grinned up at her in the relaxed laziness that claimed him for a few moments before he became interested in her again.

"True," she grinned back. "Not that I'm going to complain about that, mind you," she added, nuzzling his neck and running her fingers through his fur.

"So," she added after a moment, winking, "I suppose somebody's going to have to get you cleaned up, after the mess you made."

"You did cause it." he grinned back up and kissed her. "And we still need to get undressed."

"Well then," she grinned, reaching down to start undoing his jeans, "why don't I kill two birds with one stone?"

SnapShot could only moan softly in response, eager beyond words for what she promised and what she was doing. As much as he wanted to do things to her, to make her moan and shudder like before, he was still too afraid of messing up to really try.

Ginny, for her part, just focused on getting his pants open, kissing her way down his furry chest as she worked them down, exposing his seed-soaked shorts to the cool air of the bedroom. Her greatest problem ended up being his tail, which just could not stay still long enough to be effectively worked around without being a little rough.

SnapShot cried out softly as his seed cooled abruptly on his dark pink cock in the open air. The promise of Ginny's warmth so close to it nearly torture even before the thought of sinking all the way into her and tying crossed his mind.

She didn't give him long to be tortured by it though, quickly lapping up the matted fur around his shaft, cleaning it, and taking his length into her mouth eagerly, looking up at him lovingly as he made an obvious attempt not to choke her in his desire to get off. She started bobbing her head up and down his member, suckling it and squeezing his knot with her fingers as she decided that this time she'd let him get off as fast as he wanted to.

His speed continued to surprise her, not so much when he came but when he rolled them over just afterwards and sank as deeply as his knot allowed just afterwards without her realizing he'd gotten her clothes completely off.

She gasped in pleasure as he sank into her, grabbing his hips eagerly, more than ready for him.

"Fuck me, SnapShot," she rumbled hotly, before kissing him eagerly as he did just that, thrusting into her wet heat so fast it was much like a living vibrator rubbing her in all the right places. "Fuck me, SnapShot," she rumbled hotly, before kissing him eagerly as he did just that, thrusting into her wet heat so fast it was much like a living vibrator rubbing her in all the right places.

This time, she was the one who didn't take long to climax, crying out into her lover's mouth as her sex milked his shaft hungrily. He made no attempt to resist her body's demands and shot his seed deep into her with a howling bark of his own.

* * *

Ginny's brain jerked awake with the intensity of a hard orgasm rippling through her body. She gasped for breath as the intense dreams she'd just been having were interrupted, her mind trying to shift from sleeping to awake as quickly as it could. The only conscious thought that _did_ come to her was that she didn't want to wake SnapShot up, if he was still asleep.

A moment later, even before her body finished rippling in pleasure, her mouth was claimed by the smaller male that sank fully into her, all the way past his half swollen knot to tie them in the most intimate of canine sex acts. She groaned hotly into his mouth, closing her eyes in pleasure. Something nagged at the back of her mind, but she pushed it aside for now, wrapping her arms around SnapShot and returning the kiss eagerly, squeezing her body down around his knot experimentally and felt him shudder and arch his back up to press into her harder, though he could go no deeper.

"Morning." He grinned down at her before shifting his hips slowly, for him, to take the maximum effect of pushing deeply into her body and the intensity of slick flesh over hard bone against the base of his knot as he pulled back.

"If this is a wakeup call," she grinned between ecstatic groans, "then I'm going to have to get used to sleeping in!" She gasped as he hit a particularly sensitive spot, gripping his ass tightly as her tongue lolled out of her mouth and he grinned down before the first hard shudder of his impending orgasm.

"Good," SnapShot whimpered as he started to loose control of his body for a moment.

"Oh yeah," Ginny rumbled, squeezing down around him again, pulling him close and trying to push him the rest of the way over the edge. It was an effort that was very quickly rewarded as his body tensed and stiffened against hers and he began to truly vibrate inside her.

"Come," he managed to whisper, nearly a beg, as he held off just a bit. "Come with me."

She moaned hungrily, kissing him as her body spasmed around his shaft, teetering on the edge, about ready to explode again.

The sensations were more than he could take, even trying to hold back, and SnapShot howled as he completely lost control of his body to the instinctive thrusting into the slick, hot body he was inside. Ginny let out a howl of her own as she came again, arching her body against his as his cock sank deeply into her spasming sex.

With a last body-wrenching shudder SnapShot collapsed on top of her, panting heavily.

"Morning," he managed with a loopy grin when he'd recovered his breath a bit.

"And a very, very good one," she rumbled, smiling up at him languidly. "You know, a girl could get used to wake-up calls like this."

"I definitely could," he grinned at her a bit. "Much more fun than an alarm clock."

"You find an alarm clock that's half this fun, and I'm _seriously_ checking out the places you're shopping," she smirked, kissing him playfully, squeezing her body down around his knot.

Just then, that nagging thought in the back of her mind came back, and this time she could focus on it enough to recognize what it was.

"Oh God," she said softly, her face getting a lot more serious very quickly.

"What?" SnapShot instantly tensed into something close to fear.

"SnapShot," she started quietly, "I... don't suppose you thought of protection, did you? Last night, or this morning? I completely forgot about it," she admitted, her mouth dry.

"Now, yes." He nodded and relaxed significantly. "Can't remember that far back for last night."

"I don't think either of us did, last night." she murmured, swallowing hard. "I didn't really give you much chance to think about it ... and I know I didn't. I think I should talk to the doc later, see what they've got for birth control that we don't have to remember to use...."

"That'd be a good idea." He murmured as his ears flattened a bit in realization of what could be. "Pups are not a good thing."

"No," she agreed quietly, "they really aren't.... Damn," she swore softly, shaking her head a little.

"It was only once," he murmured, trying to make it seem less dire and now very much regretting having tied. He wanted to move, and badly.

"Yeah," she said, nodding a bit before she snapped out of it, and looked him in the eyes. "SnapShot? Listen... I don't regret any of what we've done, okay? I loved it," she added, blushing a bit, "and you're just incredible."

"You're pretty incredible yourself." He smiled down and kissed her. "I'm sure Jurnix can make everything all right. The tech here is just incredible."

"Thanks," she smiled, blushing a bit as she returned the kiss. "I hope so... there's a lot they can do in a normal place, too, so we'll be okay. I just have to remember to head down there after.... Uhm, SnapShot? What time is it?"

"Five fifteen." He nuzzled her. "Plenty of time for you to eat and clean up and everything."

"Okay," she chuckled. "I was just afraid for a minute there that I had class in five minutes or something. Five fifteen, huh," she asked, smiling at him. "Plenty of time for some snuggling too, since class doesn't start until eight."

"It's not like we can do much else right now," he chuckled a bit and nuzzled her neck to snuggle in. "Kinda attached to you at the moment."

"Fastened at the hip, huh," she chuckled, nuzzling him back and holding him close. "Can't say I mind. Quite the contrary, actually," she rumbled, licking his neck affectionately as they settled in to wait for his knot to shrink down.

* * *

Ginny wandered into a clean, highly styled medical area off the main house and smiled uncertainly at the Siamese-marked white Persian Cat who looked up from a lab table.

"Hello, are you Ginny?" She asked with a warm, welcoming smile.

"Yes Ma'am," the Retriever smiled, trying to feel a little more at ease. "I had an appointment to come in this afternoon?"

"Oh, yes." She smiled and stood with easy feline grace that looked a touch odd with all her long fur. "We weren't expecting you just yet. Please, come in and sit down." She motioned to a comfortable looking chair near a paperwork-covered desk. "I'm Kelly Sanders, a healer and registered nurse. Dr. Sandra Keller will be here soon for the rest of the physical."

"Okay," Ginny nodded, sitting down. "Sorry if I'm early... had something else I wanted to talk about, wanted to be sure there was time," she explained, blushing just a bit beneath her fur.

"Yes," Sandra smiled gently at her. "Our spirited speedster has caught your fancy?"

"Uhm - yeah," she admitted, blushing a bit more. "You might say that...."

"And you'd like to avoid the issue of pups for a while?" The fluffy feline purred with a warm smile.

"Right," she nodded. "He's, uhm... _very_ spirited," she giggled slightly, turning her head away for a moment before she could really meet the feline's sparking blue eyes again.

"Not unusual for boys his age." Sandra chuckled as her tail waved gently. "A lover can make the world so much easier to deal with. Do you have any preference on the method to use?"

"Something we don't have to think too much about, and that isn't permanent," Ginny said easily. "I might want pups some time, and, uhm... well, it's too easy to forget, when things get a little heated," she blushed.

"Then there is a pill you take daily, a shot that last three months, or an implant that is good for five years." The nurse considered. "Though we will have to have the results of your physical in first. Some of our kind do not respond normally to various drugs.

"How effective are they?" she asked. "And I figured I'd have to do that first... how long do the results usually take?"

"All three use the same drug in their standard form, it is the release method that varies. Used by themselves, all have a 97% effectiveness within the general population. Used with a condom, the effectiveness go up to 99.998%." She quoted the latest results off the top of her head. "Technically, they take effect in less than a day, but it's best to use a condom or something else for a week to be sure." She explained easily. "I would advice you to continue to use one as a regular practice, if for no other reason than having two unique biologies involved."

"Right," Ginny nodded. "Just that it'd be better to have something in case we forget... accidents happen, right? And actually, I was wondering how long the results would take from the physical. If it'd take a week or two for you to find out if they'd work at all."

"Ah, and yes, it is always good to have a backup, particularly with that boy." She smiled fondly. "The full results will take several days, though we should be able to determine if you can use standard birth control today as your gift is not a biological one."

"That'd be good," Ginny blushed. "Get it started working as soon as possible."

"Before you have too many unprotected adventures." Sandra nodded agreeably. "Do you have a preference on the form to use?"

"Probably the implant," Ginny said, thinking it over. "What's involved in putting it in?"

"Just a small incision in your inner upper arm, or somewhere else if you prefer. A bit of numbing agent and slid them in and a little skin glue to seal it. The shaved area will barely show, and it won't show at all when it grows back."

"That'd probably be best then," she nodded. "Don't have to get it replaced for a couple years then, keep from bothering you and Dr. Keller more often than I have to," she chuckled, grinning slightly.

"You'll be no bother," she grinned back. "Don't be shy from Medical. It's nice to see folks down here that haven't been beaten to a bloody pulp."

"Actually, I'll probably be working down here on class material in a few months," Ginny grinned as Kelly's bright blue eyes lit up. "I was talking with Professor Jurnix about nursing classes, when I came here. Not sure what'll happen with that, but at least it'll be somebody hanging around without needing to be sedated."

"That will be delightful. There are never enough healers, especially here. Is there any field you are particularly interested in?"

"Not so far," Ginny admitted. "Just trying to help people, but that goes with the job description," she chuckled.

"That is does," Kelly nodded. "And you'll get quite the variety in this place. We do it all, after all."

* * *

"All right, Ginny, I'd like you to concentrate on the ball and try to make it lift up." Professor Jurnix explained, indicated a tennis ball sitting on the table. She nodded, focusing on it, trying to imagine it rising... anything she could think of to make this work.

Unfortunately, none of it seemed to work. The ball didn't rise a bit.

"Professor," she asked, noticing something as she took a moment to try and relax enough she could focus again. "Was the ball... it looked like it dimpled for a moment."

"Yes, you did that." He nodded with a gentle smile. "You created a small distortion inside the ball."

"I did?" She looked at it strangely, wondering just what she'd done. "It didn't feel like I did anything.... What sort of distortion, though? I was trying to lift it, like you said, but nothing happened."

"You applied a bit of unusual logic, apparently." He smiled at her after studying a handheld computer readout carefully. "You increased the gravity inside the ball, instead of between it and where you want it to go." He considered her and the reading for a moment. "I believe we should begin teaching you physics and vector mathematics as soon as you can understand it. Your gift's uses would benefit greatly from a greater understanding of the science of what you are doing."

"You mean, I just aimed low?" She looked at him a little incredulously, then back at the ball.

"That is one way to think of it." He nodded approvingly.

"So, if I tried something like...." She trailed off, focusing again, this time above the ball. When nothing happened, she tried to imagine something like a hand above it, something to hold it. Almost immediately, the ball seemed to rise slightly, just a hair's breadth above the table.

She focused harder, and the distance seemed to increase gradually, though faster every moment, until the ball was a full inch in the air. It fell back to the table, bouncing off to the side, as Ginny let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding.

"Wow," was all she could say.

"That is an excellent beginning." Jurnix patted her shoulder.

"Yeah, way better than Gaia's first attempts." SnapShot commented after darting over from his exercises for a moment before bolting back to continue practicing dodging at full speed.

"Thanks," she said, smiling a bit. "Uhm - what did Gaia do the first few times she used her powers?"

"She has a telekinetic gift. Its effects are similar to what you just did, though with a very different method." The Foxbat explained with a knowing grin at the big Lioness currently working on levitating herself with some success. "She ended up hanging upside down by her tail until we figured out how to explain to her how to let go."

"Ouch," Ginny giggled slightly. "Well, at least I don't think that'll end up happening... it's hard enough for me to make something happen, without trying to keep it happening. As soon as I stopped working, the ball fell," she pointed out, though they probably knew it already.

"Ah, but our gifts are never so predictable. Hers is normally the same, but particularly when they are still emerging and growing, they can be very unpredictable at time." He explained. "Much like youthful emotions."

"I'll keep it in mind," she nodded. "Wouldn't want to end up having something go wrong and tear something apart," she said, wincing a bit at the thought. "Professor? If it was so hard for me to lift the ball, then how was I able to keep that car from crashing? Just things being unpredictable?"

"As well as the difference between instinct and attempt, and life and death situations." He nodded. "Many people can do the impossible when their life, or the life of someone they care for, is at stake. It is difficult to tell exactly what factored in the most."

"Okay," she nodded. "You think I'll reach the point where I can do that type of thing on purpose eventually?"

"Most likely." He nodded. "If you can do it on reflex, you should be able to control it in time."

"Good," she said, sighing a bit in relief. "Just thinking of what had to be involved... I don't think that's something I don't want to be able to control. So, what's next?"

"Practice," he chuckled softly and motioned to the ball. "Try to lift and hold it in the air for a time."

"Okay," she nodded, focusing again and trying to remember what she'd done last time, and come up with ways to make it easier to repeat.

* * *

"So, think we'll ever be able to make out in the air?" SnapShot murmured suggestively in her ear during lunch.

"If I can ever get to the point where I can handle the distraction without losing my 'grip,'" Ginny rumbled back, fighting the urge to turn and kiss him since the others were there. She'd have to ask him how 'secret' they wanted to try and keep things.

"Yeah, that'd be good." He snickered a bit. "Though as long as there's a soft place to land ...."

"Oh, I don't know," she winked at him, "I kinda think some of the hard places are ... interesting. We'll have to see what develops."

"Oh yeah." SnapShot rumbled, his tail a black and white blur.

"Prof, we have got to get another equine around here." Samantha 'Mar' Wilder rolled her deep brown eyes. "The puppies are already at it."

"I'm sure one will come." The Foxbat smiled at her as the odd group of adults and teens ate their varied meals.

Ginny blushed a bit, returning to her lunch, but not before giving SnapShot a quick hug and got a lick on the cheek in return.

"She's another 'path." SnapShot stage-whispered to her. "Get used to not having secrets. They just don't keep well."

"I guess not," she chuckled a bit. "Kinda like having a bunch of sibs, I guess." She turned and returned the lick affectionately. "They don't always 'listen in,' do they," she asked SnapShot with a soft whisper, trying to be polite about it, whether they'd probably 'hear' it or not.

"Not supposed to, but Sandy's always grumbling about how 'loud' I am, and she just gets feelings, not thoughts."

"That would explain the look she gave us yesterday," the Golden Lab blushed again. "Still, good to know that not everything I'm thinking of gets picked up," she added with a wink.

"They're used to it, and trying to not hear too much." He snickered. "Did you get the lowdown on everybody yet?"

"The lowdown on them," she asked, cocking her head curiously. "Don't think so, though you've told me a bit about Sandy, Samantha, and Kris."

"Well then." He grinned conspiratorially at her, though he spoke loud enough to be heard by those who wanted to. "Professor Tamerin 'Mindwalker' Jurnix is our headmaster and the brightest of the lot." He nodded towards the rich brown Foxbat watching him with amusement between slices of ripe fruit. "He does the whole mind thing. Telepathic, Telekinetic and some trick with making things go his way.

"Sandra 'Firestar' Keller and Kelly Sanders are medical," he grinned at the Persian she-cat relaxing in the red Vixen's arms. "Sandra's the Fox and you don't want to piss her off. She's our resident doctor, but she's also a pyro. Kelly's an empath and an actual healer, right?" He glanced at her.

"Yes," the angular faced and long furred creamy white feline nodded with a soft sound of amusement. "What Sandra and her science can't fix, I can, short of actual death."

"Sounds like you two make good partners," Ginny smiled.

"In more ways than one," the Vixen chuckled and nuzzled Kelly. "And do not take that puppy's words too seriously. I've never actually crispied a patient."

"I'd kinda guessed," Ginny chuckled a little. "And while that's comforting to know, I think I'll still try to avoid becoming the first," she grinned.

"An excellent idea, and it would make you the first of this lot to do so." Sandra shot a look directly at Kris and SnapShot.

"Well, I said I'll _try_ ," Ginny laughed slightly, looking over at SnapShot herself. "Never said I'd actually manage it. Though it sounds like I am a bit better about listening to my doc's advice than some."

"The monochrome flash over there doesn't listen to anything." Kris snorted.

"Now he's hardly that bad." Sandy batted his thick ear and got a growl for it. "You're one to talk about not listening after all."

"That's Sandy, the student leader." SnapShot continued his impromptu briefing. "She's got the empath thing, telekinetic and can turn your brain to goo."

"Ouch," Ginny winced. "You know, I think I'm just going to go on a policy of not pissing _anybody_ off around here; safer that way."

"You will be able to handle them when you get your gifts under control." Jurnix commented. "You are definitely not weak."

"Nope." SnapShot yipped in agreement.

* * *

Ginny closed up her pack, tying it shut quickly and turning to look at SnapShot with a grin.

"Y'have everything, hon?"

"Think so," he looked in the backpack again uncertainly, shifting his feet.

"Still not so sure about this, huh?" She walked over, looking over his shoulder at his pack, taking the excuse to nuzzle his neck gently as she spotted all the important things and he leaned back against her.

"I've just never done it before." He turned his lean muzzle to nuzzle her back. "It does sound fun, though."

"It is," she promised him with a grin. "At least if everything goes relatively well ... and we'll be all alone in the woods," she winked, kissing him playfully and grabbing her bag.

"Oh, yeah." SnapShot grinned with a playful groping of her breasts before swinging his own backpack on to follow her out.

"You start that now, and we'll never get out," she smirked back at him. "So, we go pick up a tent, and we should be good to go!"

"I wish they weren't called pup tents though," he made a bit of a face and happily padded along next to her. "I'm not that little anymore."

"Well, I heard one reason they were called that, but I don't know that it's the best story to bring up," she giggled as they headed towards the supply area.

"That it's where you _make_ pups?" He snickered and slid a finger between her legs slow enough to give her a thrill but too fast to really be seen.

"Something like that," she grinned, batting at him with her tail playfully. "Fortunately, not something we should have to worry too much about."

"Very good news," he grinned happily, then suddenly got serious. "You would know if you were, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded quickly, still sounding a bit relieved. "They checked along with the physical, said I was in the clear before they put the implant in."

"Good," he breathed a sigh of relief and nuzzled her, not caring that Surauli was watching them.

"Yeah," Ginny murred softly, nuzzling him back. "Y'know, we should probably get going, or we'll never get out of here," she chuckled and got a snicker in reply.

"Just get that tent and we're gone." He promised with another nuzzle.

* * *

The clearing they were in was perfect for setting up camp, one of the better-used campsites, from the looks of it. So far, most of their own camp was set up ... something that wasn't _too_ impressing, when Ginny considered that they could probably be finished if they weren't both getting somewhat distracted.

"Just a couple minutes more," Ginny laughed, ducking away from SnapShot again, working on getting the tent up while he was doing his best to get her undressed. "It won't take long, then we'll be all set up!"

"We don't need the tent," SnapShot grinned and nuzzled her while his hands finally hot her shirt over her head.

"We will tonight," she protested, though her resistance was fleeing along with parts of her wardrobe. "SnapShot," she said firmly, trying to focus enough to explain things, "five minutes, maybe less, and then we'll have the rest of the night, okay? No major interruptions then," she grinned.

He pouted at her, then backed off to regard the problem. A gust of wind later and the camp was set and he was standing next to her with his nose against her neck and his hands on pert breasts.

"Good?"

"Very good," she grinned back, her tail wagging eagerly as she kissed him playfully. "For never doing this before, you did that pretty good!"

"Incentive," he rumbled and pressed close to her while his hands slipped between her legs from behind. "It needed doing."

"Yes, it did," she rumbled, pressing against him. and kissing him playfully. "And now that it's done...." She ran her hands along his back, kissing him again.

"It's nothing but us for two days." He rumbled breathlessly as their clothes vanished in a blur of black and white.

Even before Ginny could react she felt his tongue, as fast as the rest of him, lapping at the slick wetness between her parted legs.

"Oh God," she groaned, spreading her legs eagerly, trying vainly to grip his black-and-white furred head as he pressed up harder with each thrust of his muzzle, burying his tongue even deeper inside her to swirl it around. Crying out, she came hard around his muzzle, his tongue sending her over the edge that the day's teasing and build-up had been working her towards.

"You taste so good." SnapShot moaned into her mouth as he pulled her to the ground and sank deep into her at the very peak of her contractions.

"Oh fuck," she groaned, her body still fluttering around his shaft. "Feels... incredible...."

"Yessss." He cried in a howl of pure instinct that didn't understand she couldn't conceive from his seed, something that neither of their bodies seemed to understand or, for that matter, care about. Ginny ran her hands along his lean, powerful body as he thrust into her, squeezing down around his invading shaft.

Neither knew or cared how long they lay in the open, shrouded in the pleasure of each other's bodies until they couldn't move any more.

"Y'know," she murmured softly, "I still can't believe you can actually do some of those things.... Can't believe _I_ can let you do them to me," she chuckled, nuzzling and kissing him softly.

"It's all good, beautiful." He grinned loopily down at her and nuzzled her neck. "I can never get enough of you, Ginny. Just can't." He breathed hotly against her neck and tried to thrust into her a little more, despite having retreated completely into his sheath.

"It's mutual, lover," she rumbled, pressing back against him reflexively, rubbing his sides lovingly. "Y'know... might as well get some food, while we can't do much else," she chuckled, "gotta keep our strength up, after all," she winked.

"Mmm, and eating you is unfortunately not enough." He nuzzled her. "I'm hungry for fresh meat, how about you?"

"Uhm... you hunt? I chase, but I'm not so good on the catching end of things...."

"I am," he lifted his nose to the wind and slowly stood. "Not often, but rabbits and such are an easy mouthful when you're hungry."

"Think you might be able to catch a few then, while I start the fire and get everything ready to cook," she asked curiously, shifting up onto her haunches and glancing around for her clothes. "Uhm... do they have to be cleaned out around here, or can that be done somewhere else? I think I remember hearing that can get pretty ripe, after awhile...."

He looked at her blankly for a moment, then blinked in recognition and chuckled softly. "You don't eat it raw, even hot. Didn't even think of that."

"Right, I don't," she chuckled slightly. "I can cook them, though, I just don't think the smell from cleaning them out here would exactly be something we want," she explained, wrinkling her nose.

"You know how to clean one?" He looked at her uncertainly, the scents on the wind distracting him all over the place. "I don't."

"Uhm... I think I remember something my Dad described to me," she said, frowning a bit. "Messy though...."

"Do you want the meat?" He asked uncertainly. "We brought food, right?"

"Yeah, we did," she nodded. "There's that little cooler we grabbed along with the tent, and some other things I found that didn't need to stay cold. It's not a good idea to _have_ to hunt, especially when you've never done it before," she blushed a bit.

"If you want to hunt for something though, that'd be okay. I could probably figure out something to do with it. It really is healthier to cook it though."

"Right," SnapShot nodded and darted off in a blur of fur and displaced air.

* * *

"Hay, Ginny!" SnapShot's voice grabbed her attention from the well developed fire. "Got the meat for you."

"Great," she grinned, standing up... and realizing the problem with starting the fire ahead of time. She'd have to be a little creative here, probably.

"How far is it," she asked, staying fairly close to the crackling wood.

"Just a bit," he assured her from the edge of the clearing where he was all but dancing and well covered with blood. "I'll keep an eye on it while I show you the way."

"Great," she nodded, starting for where he was standing. "Just don't think the way to celebrate our first camping trip is with a forest fire," she chuckled. "So, where to?"

"This way," he nodded and darted forward to give her a mark in sight to go to, then darted back to camp to check on the fire before showing her a bit more of the way to a bubbling creek half a mile away with a pile of freshly killed rabbits and a couple large birds was waiting.

"Whoa," she said, clearly surprised. "You were busy!" Saying that, she got to work cleaning the day's catch, albeit not with the greatest skill ever, as SnapShot watched with detached interest, darting back to camp a couple times a minute to check on the fire.

"I like my meat." He grinned.

"Apparently," she chuckled. Finally, she managed to finish cleaning the rabbits and birds out, mostly ready to take them back to the camp.

"Don't suppose you've skinned and plucked things before, have you," she asked, considering that last part of the job, an idea forming in the back of her head.

"Skinned, no, but sometimes I defeather the birds." He regarded her curiously, flashed away to check the fire and returned for her idea.

"Well, don't want to try it on the rabbits, but I think I might be able to make the plucking easier. Let's get these back to camp, so I can focus on trying this."

"Sure thing." SnapShot grinned and picked up both birds by the neck, one in each hand, and darted off. Even before she had put her knife away, he'd made the four trips it took him to move the catch.

"Wow," she chuckled, shaking her head and heading back for the camp. "You're still amazing," she grinned, when she was finally there with him. "You want to go wash up quick, while I sort out what I'm going to be doing?"

"Mmm, yeah," he grinned sheepishly. "I'm a bit messy, aren't I?"

"Just a bit," she nodded, giggling a little. "In the interests of not having you accidentally break the land-speed record, I won't tell you to hurry up," she winked with a grin.

"Nah, I don't want to start a forest fire." He grinned at her with clean, dry fur and a rush of air.

"Exactly," she chuckled, moving to give him a quick kiss. "Okay... let's see how well this little idea of mine works then," she said, turning to one of the birds, moving her hands over the surface and focusing, like she had during her training. This time though, she kept her hands roughly opposite each other. Gradually, the feathers seemed to pull out, the bird's flesh stretching as she carefully increased the force, trying to pull them out without ripping the bird apart entirely.

Finally, some of the feathers seemed to pop out, flying a short distance away and fluttering to the ground. Ginny pulled back with a startled grin.

"It worked!"

"Of course it did." He grinned and hugged her from behind, careful to stay away from her hands.

"Oh, sorry," she blushed, flexing her hands a bit and leaning to nuzzle him a bit. "That's mostly to help me 'see' what I'm doing, right now... I think I'd probably have torn it apart if I'd really used my hands for it. So... let's see how fast _I_ can go for once," she asked with a grin.

"It's okay, beautiful." He nuzzled her affectionately and grinned. "Not everybody can do their thing instinctively."

"Yeah," she smiled, resting back against him slightly, nuzzling him again. "Just that you don't need to worry that I'll hurt you doing this... I think I know what I'm doing, this time." She focused on the bird again, this time just passing one hand over it slowly, and the feathers seems to pull off almost by the handful, leaving the surface mostly plucked, if roughly.

"What a useful gift," SnapShot murmured as he watched in fascination. "There's so many thing you could do with that."

"Almost as much as you can with yours, I think," she grinned, turning around to hug him back now. "Think I'm starting to get the hang of controlling it, too."

"Good," he murmured and kissed her deeply as he returned the hug, relishing the feel of her bare fur against his own. "I think yours has more uses," he ran his hands down her sides. "I'm just fast, you could _fly_."

"Maaaaaybe," she admitted, "though I _really_ don't want to end up like that tennis ball did," she chuckled, rubbing his back. "And maybe you can't fly, but I bet you can do just about anything else you wanted, given the time to figure out how."

"I have all the time in the world," he murmured and kissed her deeply, his stomach's hunger sated in his hunt now giving away to other desires. "It's patience and focus I lack."

"Funny," she rumbled, kissing him back just as hungrily, "you seem focused enough times like now...."

"Only on you," he moaned softly as his fingers slid over her sex and slipped in, testing her readiness. "So incredible."

"Mmm," she groaned, pressing against his hand. "Ever watch the sunset, making out?"

"No," he murmured against her golden fur, very slowly sliding his fingers insider her lower lips.

"Mmm," she rumbled, slowly moving to rest her back against a tree so she could enjoy his attentions. "Lots of firsts this weekend then...."

"Firsts are good." He pressed two fingers inside her, only just barely controlling his increasing desire to take her.

"So are some repeats, lover," she grinned, kissing him hotly as she moaned lustily into his mouth, her hands exploring his body eagerly as he responded just as eagerly.

When he withdrew his hand with a swirling touch over her clit, he sank inside her without a thought, eager to be inside that warm, slick heat.

"Oh God," she groaned, squeezing down around his invading shaft, drawing the rigid length deeper into her hot body, encouraging him in greater efforts in his thrusts and pressing her hips as tightly against his own as he could.

After very few moments of that punishing treatment, she threw her head back with a long, shuddering groan as her sex spasmed and clenched around his shaft.

"Yesyesyesyes!" SnapShot howled, high and without control.

"Oh yeah," she howled, gripping the tree for balance and half- wrapping one leg around him. "Fill me up, baby!"

He did his very best to oblige, coming and continuing to pound into her as he recovered fast enough to barely be noticed by normal time.

* * *

A few hours later, SnapShot and Ginny were laying next to each other in the clearing, between the fire and the tent, recovering from their third marathon session of the day.

"God," Ginny groaned with a giggle, nuzzling her lover affectionately, "I'm still finding new places to ache...." She licked his sweat-soaked neck lightly. "You're incredible, SnapShot."

"It's all in the company," he grinned loopily at her and snuggled in close to her slightly larger frame.

"And the company is very nice," she winked, rubbing his back gently, relaxing and looking up at the stars above. "Having fun?"

"Yeah," his grinned widened. "I never thought camping could be so much fun."

"Well, I've never had a camping trip quite like this before," she giggled, "but yeah, it's more fun than it sounds...." She wracked her brain, trying to come up with a way to ask what she wanted. "Hon...? What was your life like... before you came to the school?"

"Yeah, hurr?" He blinked up at her, processing the completely unexpected at his usual speed, then tried to find the answers in the fog of generalities that passed for his memories more than a few hours old. "Umm, it wasn't much fun. I remember always being hungry." He struggled to come up with anything to tell her.

"Sorry," she said apologetically. "Just... we haven't talked about each other too much, since that first day. If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."

"I don't mind, I just don't remember," he explained apologetically with a reassuring nuzzle that reinforced his acceptance of it. "Anything past a few hours is really hazy. The Prof knows much better than I do." He kissed her gently. "Did you want to talk?"

"Mostly curious," she smiled, nuzzling him back. "You're just a big, hyper, sexy mystery some days," she chuckled.

"I got used to it," he snickered a bit. "Seriously, the Prof can tell you all about me. I know he's told me a bunch of times, I just never remember much of anything."

"You'd think I'd remember that by now," she chuckled sheepishly. "I'll ask him some time... for now, you can keep being a mystery," she smiled. "So... anything you want to know about me?"

The question took him by surprise and he blinked a couple times to try to think of anything. "Nothing I'll remember in five minutes, but I wouldn't mind hearing it anyway."

"Well, I don't want to bore you," she teased, licking his nose playfully. "Hmm...." She thought about things, trying to pick out some of the highlights. "Well, you know some of what I'm interested in already.... I guess a lot of what's happened before doesn't really seem to important anymore, what I did back in school normally. Weird...."

"Maybe not," he nuzzled her supportively. "It is a different world here, not at all like the outside. That world doesn't really matter anymore."

"It does though... doesn't it," she mused softly, rubbing his back more on reflex than anything else. "I mean... if we could just ignore the rest of the world, the Prof would probably let us. Just that we're like different people in here, I guess."

SnapShot could only shrug. "The others keep saying we don't have to hide here." He frowned slightly. "I don't think I ever hid, or maybe I just don't remember."

"Maybe not hide," Ginny said, frowning a bit as she tried to find a way to explain it. "But... I know that I'd never do half the things I do here, out there... not with my gift, at least, not unless I had too.... It's just strange, I guess."

"What kind of things?" He nuzzled in against her, both curious and willing to let her talk.

"Well... just about anything with my gift, I think. It's not exactly subtle, you know? No telling what people might do, really, and it's not something I could use to get away if things went wrong... maybe that is hiding...."

"Sure you can," he grinned down at her and kissed her soundly. "And you can use it without anybody knowing, not like me or Dr. Keller or NightStorm. Yours doesn't have to affect _you_."

"No, but it's pretty easy to notice the one person who's focusing on the newly-flying objects," she chuckled. "I guess you're right... still, better figure out what I'm doing better before I have to use it for real." She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back deeply. "Never thought I'd be doing any of this, y'know?"

"Yeah," he grinned and pressed close in a hug and kissing. "Nobody's ever liked me before. I always annoy them till they shoo me away."

"I guess they just didn't know a good thing when they saw it," she smiled, rumbling softly as she rubbed his back. "Or am I just lucky?"

"You're lucky, I'm lucky," he nuzzled her. "We're lucky." He began to kiss his way down her neck to her breasts. "It's warm and comfortable and plenty of good food and the grown ups don't yell all the time."

"Plenty of good friends and people to count on," Ginny mused, leaning to nuzzle his head. "Other things," she winked.

"Sex. Lots of very good sex." He grinned and pressed his nose between her breasts, nuzzling both at once.

"Yeah," she rumbled, pressing against him with a bit of a chuckle as take gave way to moans and the pleasures of the flesh they both found so distracting.


End file.
